Automatic playing apparatus



April 7, 1970 ITSUKI BAN 3,504,916

AUTOMATIC PLAYING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 22, 1967 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 IE. J6264 75 \TSUKi BAN,

INVENTOR.

Y Hum ELL 0 PM.

April 7, 1970 lTSUKl BAN 3,504,916

AUTOMATIC PLAYING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 22. 19s? 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 E llnsum BAN,

I INVENTOR.

rno-M mow.

April 7, 1970 ITSUKI BAN 3,504,916

AUTOMAT I C PLAY ING APPARATUS Filed Dec.. 22, 19 s? 4 sheets-sheet sm.ll'

ITSU M BAN,

IN V ENTOR.

mllaluaudlmt W Filed Dec. 22, 1967 April 7, 1970 ITSUKI BAN I 3,504,916

I I AUTOMATIC PLAYING APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 ITSU Kl BAN INVENTOR.

B N1Jum.m4pm 4b.

United States Patent 3,504,916 AUTOMATIC PLAYING APPARATUS Itsuki Ban,829 Higashi-Oizumimachi, Nerima-ku, Tokyo, Japan Filed Dec. 22, 1967,Ser. No. 692,811 Int. Cl. G11b /78 US. Cl. 2744 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE An apparatus for playing automatically in succession aplurality of endless tape cartridges according to a specific sequentialprogram, wherein said cartridges are arranged in a stack within a casingfor taking them up or down, a plurality of push button links areprovided to correspond to each cartridge and adapted to be engaged witha raised portion to thereby limit the casing in its movement, areciprocating lever is provided so that each cartridge is reciprocablebetween stand-by and play positions, a cam is actuated to terminatemovement of the reciprocating lever when the cartridge is in the playposition and to initiate movement thereof when the cartridge is in thestand-by position, and such movement of the reciprocating lever releasesthe push button link from its engagement with the raised portion toallow the easing to be moved.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION It is known to apply the concept ofautomatically playing a series of disc-shaped records in a juke box tothe playing of a plurality of endless tape cartridges with arecording-reproducing apparatus. The disadvantages of such prior art arethat dimension of the apparatus are so large and the cost is too high tomake possible use by an individual.

The present invention contemplates the provision of means enabling thecasing storing the cartridges to be lowered under the dead weight loadto allow the cartridges to be placed in the play position as desired.The construction of the apparatus in accordance with the invention isvery simple and compact to minimize consumption of electric current.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to an automatic playingapparatus utilizing a plurality of endless tape cartridges, and morespecifically to a new and improved mechanism for automatically indexingthe cartridges in succession for automatic play.

Heretofore it has been proposed to use a currently available tapecartridge for the purposes as described above. Preferably, the cartridgeis horizontally held in its position to facilitate the tape feed.

It is a principal object of the invention, accordingly, to provide anautomatic playing apparatus which is capable of using a currentlyavailable tape cartridge without the necessity of modification thereof.

A further object of the invention is to provide an automatic playingapparatus having means to horizontally bring the cartridge into thestand-by or play position.

Another object of the invention is to provide an automatic playingapparatus in which a casing is provided for receiving a multiplicity ofthe cartridges in a stack therewithin and which is particularly adaptedto be lifted or lowered to horizontally reciprocate the cartridgebetween two positions.

Another object of the invention is to provide an automatic playingapparatus having a plurality of push button links which are provided tocorrespond to each cartridge so that the cartridge is moved into theplay posi- "ice tion, at which time movement of a casing is arrested byengagement of a depressed push button link with a raised portion.

Another object of the invention is to provide an automatic playingapparatus which, when a casing is manually lifted or lowered under thedeadweight load, does not require any complicated mechanism toaccomplish this end.

Another object of the invention is to provide an automatic playingapparatus in which a cam is rotated by the output of an electric motorto operate a reciprocating lever carrying the cartridge, anelectromagnetic device is actuated and deactuated by a switch and endmark search means to cause the cam to be connected and disconnected tothe electric motor whereby each cartridge may be successively moved fromthe stand-by position to the play position, and vice versa.

Another object of the invention is to provide an automatic playingapparatus wherein the cartridge is adapted to be movable from thestand-by to neutral position by manually depressing the cartridge itselfto allow the cartridge to be engaged with an engaging member forarresting movement of the casing whereby the cartridge may be brought tothe play position.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an improvedarrangement which, when the cartridges are in the play position,requires a pinch roller to be maintained in its position in relation toa capstan, and a head to secure the tape feed for obtaining excellenttone quality.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an automaticplaying apparatus which is capable of indexing not only the cartridgebut also one or more recorded tracks out of a plurality of tracks on thetape to allow tracks to be successively played.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will beunderstood from the following description and claims in conjunction withthe accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a cartridge for use with an automatic playingapparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial side elevational view of the automatic playingapparatus;

FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of a cartridge operating mechanism;

FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram for actuating an electromagnetic plunger;

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram for actuating an electromagnetic coil;

FIG. 6 is a cross section of the electromagnetic coil of FIG. 5

FIG. 7 is a schematic representation of a push button link for thecartridge;

FIG. 8 is a circuit diagram for indexing a track on the tape containedin the cartridge;

FIG. 9a shows schematically a track indexing mechanism adapted toactuate a switch.

FIG. 9b is partial plan view of a switch in a position to cooperate withthe mechanism of FIG. 9a;

FIGS. 10, 11 and 12 are perspective views showing a track indexingmechanism adapted to cooperate with a magnetic head;

FIG. 13a is a perspective view of a mechanism for playing the tape in amanner such that tracks are successively indexed;

FIG. 13b shows schematically a ratchet wheel provided in the mechanismof FIG. 13a;

FIG. 14 shows a circuit diagram for actuating the mechanism of FIG. 13a;

FIG. 15 is a side elevational view of another embodiment of the presentinvention showing an arrangement which is capable of indexing thecartridge by independent movement of the cartridge itself.

The structure of a currently available endless tape cartridge for usewith an automatic playing apparatus according to the present inventionwill be described for an understanding of the function of such acartridge.

Referring to the drawings, particularly, FIG. 1, a cartridge 20comprises a rectangular container having a base 21 on which is mounted apost 22 on which is wound a spool of magnetic tape 24 loaded on a rotarydisc 23 which is carried by the post 22. A portion 24 of the tape 24passes around a tape guide .25, past an end mark search device 26, overa magnetic head 27, and around a pinch roller 28 and terminates in thereeled tape. The pinch roller 28 is supported by a shaft 28' on one endof a lever 29 which is rotatively supported by a pivot 30 fixed to thebase 21. The pinch roller is urged by a spring 31 in the direction of acapstan to press the capstan. In this manner, the tape 24 can be drivenbetween the capstan and the pinch roller, and thus the spring 31 urgesthe pinch roller 28 against the capstan 32.

Retainers 35, 36 are provided so that the cartridge 20 may be snuglyheld in place when they are depressed in the direction of the arrow andare inserted into depressions 33, 34 formed in both sides of thecartridge. In order to terminate the running of the tape 24, thecartridge 20 is downwardly pulled from the play position against thepressure of the retainers 35, 36 to release the capstan 32 from itsengagement with the pinch roller 28.

The same end can, however, be accomplished in a cartridge having nolever but having pinch roller which is pivoted to the base of thecartridge. Another type of a cartridge is that in which the pinch rolleris provided in the cabinet to allow it to pass through a slot boredthrough the base of the cartridge when the cartridge is inserted intothe opening of the cabinet so that the pinch roller cooperates with thecapstan to effect the tape running. These cartridges as described aboveare commonly characterized in that the tape feed depends entirely uponmovement of the cartridge which is reciprocable within the opening ofthe cabinet. Therefore, such a cartridge is advantageously available forthe apparatus according to the present invention.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a vertically extending rectangular casing 40 ispartitioned into a plurality of chambers and is slidably carried byguide posts 41. A plurality of cartridges 20 20 20 are removablyinserted into the chambers and a plurality of push button links 42 42 42having push buttons 43 43 43 at the end thereof are supported byrespective keepers 44, 45 secured to the casing 40 to correspond to therespective cartridges.

To the upper end of the casing 40 is tied a nylon string 47 which iswrapped around a reel in a governor member 46 having a spring motortherein. The governor member 46 is adapted to reel the string 47 thereinby actuation of the spring motor when the casing is manually lifted.When the users hand is removed from the casing after taking it up to theupper ends of the guide posts 41, the casing 40 is automatically loweredunder the deadweight load, at which time, the string 47 is reeled offlittle by little against returning force inherent in the spring motor,that is to say, the rate of descent of the casing 40 is subject to theinfluence of the governor member 46. Numeral 48 indicates a stringguide.

A raised portion 49 is formed on a cabinet 50 so as to engage a tipportion of the push button link 42 when the link is depressed. In thismanner, movement of the casing 40 is arrested. A receptacle 51 isprovided to receive the forward end of the casing 40 when it is broughtinto the play position to thereby secure engagement of the tape 24 withthe head 27, pinch roller 28, and the capstan 32 so that excellent to-nequality is obtained. A flywheel 52 having a capstan 32 as a shaft isrotated through a belt 53.

For convenience of the users, as an index to an item on the program, alabel or the like on which the contents of a tape is written orindicated may be atached to the rear end of each cartridge so that thecartridge to be indexed is identified.

Referring to FIG. 3, the cartridge operating mechanism will be describedin greater detail hereinafter.

Pivoting about a pin 57 on an arm 58 is one end of a reciprocating lever56 which has another arm 59 projecting from the mid portion thereof. Thecartridge is securely engaged by the arms 58, 59 against the respectiveends thereof. The arm 58 is biased in the direction of the arrow by aspring (not shown) but inward movement of the arm 58 is limited by astop (not shown). Rigidly fixed to the other end of the lever 56 is acrank pin 60 which is loosely received in an annular groove 62eccentrically formed in a cam wheel 61.

Rotation of the cam wheel 61 will cause the crank pin 60 carried by thegroove 62 to reciprocate the lever 56 and the cartridge 20 in thedirection of arrows A and B. The cam wheel 61 is provided with teeth 64and a lug 65 on the circumference thereof.

Numeral 54 indicates a motor for imparting rotation through the mediumof the belt 53 to the flywheel 52. Positioned between the flywheel 52and the roller 71 having a gear 72 meshing with the teeth 64 is anelectromagnetic plunger 67 which has an actuator 68 pivotally mounted toone end of a lever 69 provided with a rotatable idler 66 at the otherend thereof.

The actuator 68 around which a spring 73 is wound is adapted to beoperated against the bias of the spring. A permanent magnet 74 offerrite is rigidl fixed to the actuator 68 while the magnet circuit openend of a core 75' of an electromagnetic coil 75' is placed in a positionwhere the permanent magnet 74 is moved when the electromagnetic plunger67 is energized. The details of the permanent magnet and theelectromagnetic coil will be described hereinafter with reference toFIG. 6.

Now once the plunger 67 is energized by an impulse thereto and hence theactuator 68 is retracted against the urging force of the spring 73, theidler 66 is retracted to thereby impart rotation produced by the motor54 to the cam wheel 61. This will cause the permanent magnet 74 to bemagnetically attracted to the core 75 with the actuator remaining heldin its position. For this reason, if energization of the plunger 67 isinterrupted, the actuator 68 maintains its position against the bias ofthe spring 73 to thereby cause the cam wheel 61 to be continuouslyrotated.

At the periphery of the cam wheel 61 integrally formed therewith is thelug 65 which acts to close a normally open switch 76 adapted to beengaged by the lug when the cam wheel is rotated. Upon closing theswitch 76, the direction of the flow of current into the coil 75 ischanged to cause the coil to produce a magnetic flux to counteract themagnetic flux of the permanent magnet 74.

For the reason as set forth above, when the coil 75 is energized, theattractive force existing between the magnet 74 and the core 75' decaysallowing the spring 73 to push the actuator 68 back to its normalposition. The idler 66 is, therefore, moved away from the flywheel 52and the roller 71 to terminate rotation of the cam wheel 61.

The electromagnetic plunger circuit to initiate rotation of the camwheel 61 is illustrated in FIG. 4.

Current from the power mains E flows through a high value resistor Rinto a condenser C to charge it. The tape feed causes an end mark 80 ofaluminium foil on the tape to close the contacts of the end mark searchdevice 26 so that the charge on the condenser R which flows as a pulseinto the plunger 67 cause the latter to be energized initiating rotationof the cam wheel 61. At S is indicated a switch for manually actuatingthe plunger 67. The condenser C and the high value resistor R areincorporated in the circuit to minimize current consumption from thepower mains E A suitable modification of the present invention may be,however, used in which without the use of the condenser and the resistorthe same end as described above is accomplished with a minimum amount ofcurrent. The end mark moves away from the search device to deenergizethe plunger.

When the lug 65 acts to close the switch 76, see FIG. 5, the chargethrough the high value resistor R on the condenser C flows as a pulseinto the coil 75. As previously described, at that moment the currentflow direction to the coil 75 is also one which counteracts the magneticflux yielded by the permanent magnet 74. A switch 81 is provided inparallel with the switch 76 and is closed by the casing 40 when it islowered to the fullest extent. The details of the switch 81 will bedescribed later.

Once the permanent magnet 74 of ferrite, see FIG. 6, has approached thecore 75', the magnetic circuit is closed to establish a powerfulattractive force therebetween. The U shaped core 75' is used in thisarrangement, however, it is also possible to utilize a jar shaped coretherein.

The electromagnetic device as described above provides advantages inminimizing power consumed by engagement of the idler with the flywheeland roller and in allowing the apparatus to be operated in a precise andnon-frictional manner. The object of the electromagnetic device is toinitiate rotation of the cam wheel when the end mark on the tape isengaged with the search device and to terminate rotation thereof whenthe cam wheel brings the lug into engagement with the switch, and thecartridge is brought to the play position. Another type ofelectromagnetic device may, of course, be employed.

The cartridge 20 in the stand-by position and the cartridge indexmechanism including the push button link 43 are shown in FIG. 7. Thecartridge indexing mechanism comprises the link 42 of which the topportion is the push button 43, and a projection 91 which is integrallyformed on the link. Keepers 44, 45 which are rigidly secured to thecasing 40 are provided with rectangular openings through which slidablyextends the push button link 42.

Two pairs of leaf springs 84, 86 and 85, 87 arranged in the opening ofthe casing 40 serve to hold the cartridge in the two positions, thestand-by position and the play position. When the cartridge is held inthe stand-by position, one pair of springs 84, 86 is in register withthe depressed portions 33, 34 while when the cartridge is held in theplay position, the other pair of springs is in register with thedepressed portions.

The receptacle 51 is provided to snugly, tightly receive the front endof the cartridge therein to thereby secure optimum engagement of thepinch roller 28 with the capstan 32 and of the tape 24 with the head 27and the search device 26. The pair of springs 85, 87 may be disposedwithin the receptacle 51.

The swingable and slidable link 42 is normally urged by the spring 90extending thereto from the casing 40 and the push button 43 slightlyprojects beyond the outer edge of the casing. In order to index thecartridge to the play position, the push button 43 is depresseddownwardly in the figure to bring the projection 91 into engagement withthe keeper 45 so that the link is lowered andheld in its position. Atthis point, a raised portion 49 is rigidly mounted on the cabinet 50 andis adapted to be engaged with the tip of the link 42. In this manner,downward movement of the casing 40 is arrested by engagement of the link42 with the raised portion 49. The tip of the link 42 is preferably madeof elastic sheet material to minimize a shock produced between theraised portion 49 and the link during engagement.

Slidably provided on the cabinet 50 is a release lever 92 which isadapted to push the link 42 outwardly to cause the projection 91 to moveout of engagement with the keeper 45. The lever 92 is normally urged inthe direction of the arm 59 by the spring (not shown) but can beslidable in the direction of the link 42 when the lever is thrust awayoutwardly by a bevelled portion 59' integrally formed on the arm 59 whenthe reciprocating lever 56 is moved to bring the cartridge to thestand-by position. Such movement of the lever 56 causes the link 42 tomove out of engagement with the keeper 45.

Operation of the apparatus according to the present invention should nowbe apparent.

Assuming that two of the cartridges which are desired to be played willbe successively indexed, to this end the respective push buttons must bedepressed. Downward movement of the casing under the deadweight loadcauses the tip of the link 42 to be engaged with the raised portion 49so that movement of the casing is arrested allowing the cartridge to bein registry with the reciprocating lever 56.

Now the switch S of FIG. 4 is closed, current is applied to the plunger67 to cause the actuator 68 to be retracted compressing the spring 73.At this point, the actuator is required to be maintained in its positioneven after the switch S is opened since the core 75 is caused to drawthe permanent magnet 74 by the attractive force therebetween. Withretraction of the actuator 68, the idler 66 is also retracted intoengagement with the flywheel 52 and the roller 71 so that rotation isimparted through the gear 72 and teeth 64 to the cam wheel 61.

Rotation of the cam wheel 61 causes the lever 56 to bring the cartridge20 in the direction of arrow A, and the springs 85, 87 are forced intodepressions 34, 35 while the forward end of the cartridge is moved intothe receptacle 51. At the same time, the lug 65 closes the switch 76which energizes the coil 75 in a manner as previously described to erasethe magnetic flux between the magnet 74 and the core 75' so that theactuator 68 is returned to its initial position under the influence ofthe spring. When this occurs, the idler 66 is moved away from theflywheel 52 and the roller 71 to terminate rotation of the cam driven bythe motor 54. This also terminates reciprocation of the lever 56 andpositions the cartridge in the proper location for playing in which theroller 28 engages the capstan 32 to drive the tape 24 which is reeledover the head 27 and the search device 26.

In the play position, the cartridge is urged by the arm 58 in such amanner that engagement of the roller 28 with the capstan 32 and of thetape 24 with the head 27 is so effectively secured that tone quality isimproved. In this embodiment, a spring (not shown) is provided forrotating the arm 58 about the pin 57 to tightly hold the cartridge inassociation with the other arm 59. The arm 58, may, however, be formedof a resilient material to make use of the inherent elastic force tourge it in the direction of the cartridge.

When the tape feed comes to an end, the end mark provided on the endthereof contacts the search device 26. This energizes theelectromagnetic plunger 67 to bring the idler 66 into engagement withthe flywheel 52 and the roller 71 allowing the cam wheel 61 to berotated. Rotation of the cam wheel 61 at this time moves thereciprocating lever 56 in the direction of arrow B as the crank pin 60is carried by the annular groove 62 is caused to cooperate with the camwheel. With retraction of the cartridge to the stand-by position,engagement of the pinch roller with the capstan is ended so that thecartridge is in the stand-by position. When the cartridge is snuglyreceived within the opening and the retainers 84, 86 are urged towardthe depressions 33, 34 to be conformed therewith, the bevelled portion59 of the arm 59 is engaged by the release lever 92 for causing it to bemoved leftwards as shown in FIG. 7 and the push button link 42 is alsomoved in the leftward direction by movement of the release lever 92. Theprojection 91 thus is released from its engagement with the keeper 45 sothat the spring 90 can urge the push button link 42 toward its normalposition.

Upon disengagement of the push button link 42 from the raised portion49, interference with movement of the casing 40 is ended so that thecasing is lowered under its own weight until the next cartridge indexedby depression of the push button is aligned with the reciprocating lever56.

In the time interval between the disengagement of the push button linkfrom the raised portion and the interference with movement of the casingto permit the next cartridge to be indexed, the crank pin 60 is carriedand guided by the groove 62 while the reciprocating lever 56 is kept ata standstill for a predetermining portion of the rotation of the camwheel 61.

When movement of the lever 56 is again initiated, the cartridge isbrought into the play position to allow the tape 24 to be played and theend mark 80 on the last end of the tape 24 is searched by the searchdevice 26. At this point, the cartridge 20 is moved to the stand-byposition. In this manner, the cartridge is played in accordance with aspecific sequential program.

An unexpected disadvantage derived from the depression of the pushbutton is that after the cartridge is retained within the openingnothing interferes with movement of the casing so that the casing islowered to the fullest extent so long as the cam wheel 61 iscontinuously rotated. The switch 81 is, however, provided, see FIG. 5,to apply current to the electromagnetic coil 75 when it is closed andthe idler 66 is released from engagement with the flywheel 52 and theroller 71 so that rotation of the cam wheel 61 is terminated when theidler 66 moves away from the flywheel 52 and the roller 71. It isapparent that when the casing is lowered to the fullest extent the lever56 is not moved at all and so the disadvantage is not produced.

According to the arrangement as described above, the cartridges whichare desired to be played may be successively indexed by depressing thepush button links after the casing is manually lifted.

This invention also contemplates the provision of means enabling thecartridge indexing mechanism to serve for indexing a track on the tapewhen necessary. This may be accomplished by either of two arrangements,one providing a plurality of magnetic heads to be opposed to each trackfor allowing the head to be engaged by the track by changing over aswitch, the other causing a single head to be movable across the tape tothat end.

FIG. 8 shows a circuit in which a track is indexed by the formerarrangement. This circuit comprises magnetic heads 27 27 which are soarranged as to be opposed to two tracks on the tape, a change-overswitch 101 connected to an amplifier 102 for selecting the output of oneof said heads, and a speaker 103. With this arrangement, the outputproduced in the magnetic head 27 or 27 is applied to the amplifier bychanging over the switch. The track indexing mechanism will be describedbelow with reference to FIGS. 9a and 9b.

Slidably mounted in the keepers 44, for carrying the push button link 42is a push button link 105 which can also be engaged with these keeperswhen a push button 104 thereon is depressed. The push button link 105 isprovided with lugs 106, 107 that are engageable with the keeper toarrest vertical movement of the link. The link 105 may be in theposition shown by the broken or solid lines when the button 104 isdepressed or not. The switch 101 is mounted on the cabinet so as to beopposite to the link 105.

The details of the switch 101 are illustrated in FIG. 9b and itcomprises terminals 109 109 secured to an insulated base plate 108, andan arm 110 pivoted at a point 111 thereon and being urged clockwise by aspring 112 stretched between the arm and the plate. The rotation of thearm 110 is arrested by a stop (not shown) at the point where it engagesthe terminal 109 The free end 110' of the arm 110 is made of a resilientmaterial to absorb a shock produced when engagement is made with thepush button link 105. When the push button link is in the position shownby the solid lines the link is spaced away from the free end of the arm110. The arm 110 connected to the amplifier 102 is maintained inengagement with the terminal 109 connected to the magnetic head 27 underinfluence of the spring 112. As a result, the track which is against themagnetic head 27 is played. When the push button 104 is depressed, thepush button link 105 engages the free end 110 of the arm 110 as thecasing 40 is lowered in the direction of arrow C of FIG. 9b so that thearm 110 is rotated counterclockwise against the bias of the spring 112and thus engages the terminal 109 connected to the magnetic head 27 Thiscauses the switch 101 to be changed over to the contact with themagnetic head 27 and the track which is against head 27 is played.

It is apparent from the foregoing that with the arrangement shown inFIG. 9 the index of the track is effected independently for eachcartridge. Any type of switch may be employed if it takes the form ofone circuit and two contacts. The link 105 may take the form of the link42 and vice versa.

The latter arrangement is shown in FIG. 10 and comprises a leaf spring113 one end of which is mounted on the cabinet and carries the magnetichead 27 at the other end thereof, and a lever rotatively pivoted on ashaft 114 fixed to the cabinet. The lever 115 is adapted to engage theleaf spring 113 at the one end thereof and to pass through a notchedportion provided on one side of a stopping piece or member 116. Rotationof the lever 115 is effected by engagement of the push button link 105therewith and is limited by the range of the notched portion of themember 116. The magnetic head 27 is reciprocated along the arrow D ofFIG. 10 when the lever is rotated to thus allow the track to be indexed.

When the lever 115 is spaced from the pushbutton link 105, the one endthereof is purged inwardly by the bias of the leaf spring 113 while theother end is engaged by the notched portion of the member 116 to arrestrotation of the lever 115 so that the magentic head 27 carried by theleaf spring 113 is held in its position to allow it to engage the trackduring the time the tape is transported. When the pushbutton 104 isdepressed the link 105 is moved into engagement with the end portion115' of the lever 115 after downward movement of the casing is arrestedby the pushbutton 43 which is depressed. This causes the head 27 to bemoved within the range of the notched portion of the member 116 and toengage the other track.

The pushbutton link 105 is preferably made of elastic material to usethe returning force inherent in the elastic link for allowing the linkto pass above the end portion 115' due to its elasticity by movement ofthe casing upon finishing the play of the tape. In order to return thepushbutton link 105 to its normal position when the pushbutton link 42is returned to its normal position, the latter link may be provided witha projection 91 to engage a projection 107 integrally formed on the link105.

A modified form of the pushbutton link for indexing for a number oftracks more than two on the tape is illustrated in FIG. 11, namely, alink is provided so that more than two tracks can be indexed. In thisembodiment, there is provided a link 105 having a plurality of steppedportions 118, 119, up to as many tracks as are on the tape, the steppedportions engaging the projection on end 115' of the lever 115. With thislink, the head 27 can travel a distance equal to the range of eachstepped portion against the bias of the leaf spring 113 to index thetrack on the tape. Selection of the stepped portions 118, 119, whichengage the projection on end 115' is determined by the amount ofdepression on the pushbutton 104. The pushbutton link 105 is preferablyprovided with a scale adjacent to the button 104 to indicate which trackis indexed. It is essential that a click stop means be disposed at thelink 105 for facilitating engagement of the projection with the steppedportions. As will be seen from the drawing, a retaining member 120 ismounted on the cabinet to secure engagement of the projection with thestepped portions and to arrest movement of the casing when it engagesthe link 105. This arrangement has the advantage that the pushbutton 43and the link 42 as shown in FIG. 9 can be omitted. It is, however,necessary to provide means that are similar to the release lever 92, thebevelled portion 59 and cooperating with the lever 56 for pushing thelink 105 to disengage it from the retaining member I120 when the lever56 is moved. Instead of using the leaf spring 113, the other prior meansmight be employed for carrying the magnetic head 27.

An embodiment in which a rotary cam is substituted for the steppedportions is shown in FIG. 12. The pushbutton link 121 has a cam 123secured to the mid-portion thereof. The cam 123 is so shaped as to allowthe magnetic head 27 to selectively engage the track through movement ofthe lever 115. When the pushbutton is depressed, the link 121 is engagedby a retaining member 122 to arrest movement of the casing 40 and theperiphery of the cam engages the projection on the end of the lever 115.The point where the cam is engaged by the projection on the end .of thelever 115 can be adjustable by manually rotating the link 121 so thatthe magnetic head is movable in response to movement of the lever 115 asthe projection is moved to conform to the configuration of the cam 123.

Another arrangement illustrated in FIGS. 13 and 14 is such that anytracks desired can be indexed in succession out of a plurality of trackson the tape. This arrangement comprises essentially a pushbutton link126 having keepers 124, 125 mounted on the casing 40 to rotatetherewith, a cam 128 and a ratchet wheel 129, respectively secured tothe link underneath the keeper 125. A retaining member 127 is disposedon the cabinet to engage and disengage the pushbutton link when it isdepressed and pulled in directions of arrow F for arresting andinitiating movement of the casing. The cam, the rotating lever, and themagnetic head shown in FIG. 13 are adapted to operate in the same manneras those shown in FIG. 12.

The cam 128 has symmetrical offset semicircular shapes to cause the headtraversing the track to reciprocate twice whenever the cam revolves onits axis through an angle of 360.

The ratchet wheel 129 is as shown in the broken lines of FIG. 13a and isrotated in a clockwise direction by a pawl 133 which engages teeth ofthe ratchet wheel when a plunger is energized to retract an actuator 132against the bias of a spring 131. Rotation of the ratchet wheel 129causes the cam 128 to be rotated in the same direction so that the head37 is moved to another track on the tape.

The arrangement as shown in FIG. 13a, is adapted to select one track outof four tracks on the tape. A disc 134 is secured to the link 126 abovethe keeper 124 to rotate with the cam 128. The exterior of the keeper124 is provided with an index scale 136 indicating four tracks, forexample, by numerals 1, 2, 3 and 4, and with a scale pointer engraved onthe disc cooperates to indicate the adjustment of the cam 128 so thatthe track may be selected as desired. Numeral 138 is a cam plate whichis frictionally mounted on the link 126 and is adapted to rest on thedisc 134 by frictional force to freely be rotated around the link 126.

A change-over switch 138 comprises an arm 142 pivotally mounted at apivot 140 on an insulating plate 139, and being urged in acounterclockwise direction by the bias of a spring 141. This switcharrangement which is provided with two contact terminals 143, 144 takesthe form of a one circuit and two contacts. Normally, the arm 142 is,under the influence of the spring, maintained in engagement with thecontact terminal 143 but is engageable with the terminal 144 upon itsdisengagement from the other terminal 143 when it is pushed away. Whenmovement of the casing is arrested by engagement of the link 126 withthe retaining member 127, the arm 142 is in the position shown by thebroken lines of FIG. 13 and is engaged by the notched portion of the camplate 137. From the foregoing, it will be apparent that it depends uponthe position in which of the notched portion is aligned with the armwhich terminals 143, 144 is engaged thereby.

A circuit including the switch arrangement 138 is shown in FIG. 14wherein part or parts similar to those in FIG. 4 are represented by likereference numerals. When the switch 138 is held in the position shown bythe solid lines of FIG. 14, that is to say, the circuit may Operate thesame as shown in FIG. 4. After the tape 24 has come to the end mark, thesignal thereof causes the plunger 67 to be energized retracting thecartridge into its normal position by movement of the reciprocatinglever 56 to terminate the play on the tape. At this moment, the arm 142engages the notched portion of the cam plate 137. On the other hand, ifthe arm 142 is caused to engage the periphery of the cam plate, theswitch 138 is changed over and is in the position shown by the brokenlines of FIG. 14. The current from the power mains E is drained into theplunger whenever the contact of the end mark search device 26 is shortcircuited by the end mark 80. As a result, the ratchet wheel 129 isrotated by one tooth allowing the head 27 to traverse the tape by onetrack. In order to effect conversion from engagement of the head 27 withtwo tracks to engagement thereof with four tracks, there may be providedthe pointer 145 disposed on the cam plate 137 and the scale (not shown)arranged on the disc 134 to indicate each track to be played so that anangle formed by the arm 142 engaging with the periphery of the cam plate137 is adjustable by setting the pointer on the scale. As shown in FIG.13b, one plunger 130' is mounted on the cabinet for operating the pawl133 to mesh with the teeth of the ratchet wheel 129 when movement of thecasing 40- is arrested.

The embodiment wherein the cartridge is adapted to be indexed bydepressing the push button has been described above.

In FIG. 15, the other modified arrangement is provided so that thecartridge is indexed by the cartridge itself without the use of the pushbutton or the like. Like figures are represented by like referencenumerals.

In this embodiment, the cartridge is adapted to be movable from thestand-by through neutral to play position. Movement of the cartridgefrom the stand-by to neutral position is manually effected whilemovement thereof from the neutral to play and vice versa, is made by thereciprocating lever 56. As seen from FIG. 15, the cartridge 20 is in theplay position while the cartridge 20 20 is in the neutral and the othersin the stand-by position. Engaging member is mounted on the cabinet 50to engage the front end of the cartridge to be advanced. If thecartridge is caused to be moved to the neutral position, the engagingmember is engageable with the cartridge to arrest downward movement ofthe casing. Arrest of movement of the casing advance is the cartridgeengaging the engaging member 150 to the play position by means of thereciprocating lever (not shown). When the play of the cartridge isfinished, the cartridge is moved to the stand-by position by thereciprocating lever to disengage the engaging member 150 from thecartridge 20 As a result, downward movement of the casing is againinitiated until the next indexed cartridge 20 is engaged by the engagingmember 150. At the same time, the reciprocating lever moves thecartridge to the play position and moves the same back to the stand-byposition after it is played. In this manner, the last indexed cartridgeis moved back to the stand-by position after it is played, and there isno further cartridge to be played so that the casing is lowered to thefullest extent. At this point a switch (not shown) which is similar tothe switch 81 shown in FIG. is closed by the casing to terminatesuccessive movement of the reciprocating lever. It should be noted thatthe track indexing mechanism may be applicable to the arrangement inFIG. 15.

As seen from the description as in the above, it is apparent that thepresent invention provides not only an effective apparatus utilizing aplurality of cartridges which are successively played in accordance witha sequential program but also a simple construction by which automaticoperation is effected without consumption of much current.

Since certain changes may be made in the above apparat us withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention herein involved, it isintended that all matter contained in the above description or shown inthe accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and notin a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for automatically playing a plurality of endless tapecartridges in succession according to a specific sequential program,comprising a casing for holding a plurality of cartridges for slidablemovement transversely of the casing, guide means guiding said casing formovement past a reproducing station, a plurality of pushbutton links,one for each cartridge, slidably mounted on said casing for movement inthe direction of sliding movement of the cartridges, latch means on saidlinks and said cartridge for holding the pushbutton links in position,an abutment at said reproducing station with which the depressedpushbutton links are engageable for stopping movement of said casing, acartridge moving lever at said reproducing station reciprocally movablein the direction of the sliding movement of said cartridges andengageable with successive cartridges at said reproducing station formoving the cartridge from the casing into a play position and back intothe casing, a lever moving means coupled to said lever for moving saidlever in one direction at the time when the casing brings the cartridgeinto position opposite the reproducing station and moving it in theother direction when the play of the tape is ended, said lever beingengageable with said pushbutton link to release said latch means, adrive connecting means coupling said lever moving means with the driveof the tape recorder and reproducer for actuating the lever moving meansto move the cartridge being played into the casing and after the casinghas moved, moving the next cartridge in succession into the reproducingstation and then disconnecting the lever moving means from the drive,and a sensing device for scanning the tape for sensing completion ofplay of the tape, said sensing device being coupled to said driveconnecting means for actuating it when play of the tape has ended.

2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 further comprising magnetic headmoving means at said reproducing station adapted to be coupled to themagnetic reproducing head of the reproducing apparatus for moving thetape head between tracks on a tape, and track indexing means on saidcartridges engageable with said magnetic head moving means when saidcartridge is at the reproducing station for indexing the magnetic headfor playing a plurality of tracks on the tape in the cartridge.

3. An apparatus for automatically playing a plurality of endless tapecartridges insuccession according to a specific sequential program,comprising a casing for holding a plurality of cartridges for slidablemovement transversely of the'casing, guide means guiding said casing-for movement past a reproducing station, said cartridges beingpartially movable out of said casing to a projecting position, anabutment at said reproducing station with which the cartridges in theprojecting position are engageable for stopping movement of said casing,a cartridge moving lever at said reproducing station reciprocallymovable in the direction of the sliding movement of said cartridges andengageable with successive cartridges at said reproducing station formoving the cartridge from the projecting position into a play positionand back into the casing, a lever moving means coupled to said leverfrom moving said lever in one direction at the time when the casingbrings the cartridge into position opposite the reproducing station andmoving it in the other direction when the play of the tape is ended, adrive connecting means coupling said lever moving means with the driveof the tape recorder and reproducer for actuating the lever moving meansto move the cartridge being played into the casing and after the casinghas moved, moving the next cartridge in succession into the reproducingstation and then disconnecting the lever moving means from the drive,and a sensing device for scanning the tape for sensing completion ofplay of the tape, said sensing device being coupled to said driveconnecting means for actuating it when play of the tape has ended.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,381,910 5/1968 Fundingsland242-5513 3,326,483 6/1967 Ivans 242-55.l3 I 3,317,212 5/1967 Tatter eta1. 242 55.13 3,289,962 12/1966 Gellenthin 24255.13 3,188,091 6/1965Goodell 274-11 3,083,269 3/1963 Gaubert 179-l00.2 3,009,024 11/1961 Eash242-55.13

LEONARD FORMAN, Primary Examiner A. FIELDS, Assistant Examiner

